Proposed amendment to media law will seriously affect reputation of our country – media expert

The National Assembly on October 28  adopted in the first reading a package of draft laws on amendments to the Law on Mass Media, proposing to establish responsibility for media outlets if they publish insults and slander by an unidentified source. Under the amendment, the media will not be released from liability if they refer to unidentified sources or publish information disseminated by them. There is also a requirement for financial transparency.

These new legislative regulations have been criticized not only by the opposition, but also by the expert community and international human rights organizations, who warn that the trends are worrying, as this is not a separate process, but part of a chain.

According to international law expert Ara Ghazryan, the draft amendment to the media law will seriously affect the reputation of our country. These restrictions are illegal. It is not allowed for the information to flow unequivocally after the situation is settled, but the flow of information is blocked from the beginning,” Ghazaryan said, adding that this law separates Armenia from European law. Ghazaryan expressed confidence that sooner or later this law will be removed.

Media expert Arthur Papyan says there are YouTube and telegram channels that successfully challenge the media. In his situation, when the Armenian media is in a life-and-death struggle not to lose audience, to survive, new restrictions are imposed.

“It is clear that the competitive situation is getting worse for the Armenian media. In this situation, the audience will subscribe to anonymous sources,” Papyan said. He added that the new legal regulations will damage the reputation of our country.